Speaking in a short interview with Japan's 'Sports Nippon' magazine, Kranjcar said that he considers the Korea Republic as a much tougher opponent than Japan.

The Croatian National Football team's coach ignited criticism from other Japanese media with his comments. The magazine published the article under the headline "Japan Under Korea".

"I really don’t want to upset the people of Japan, who I have great affection for, but it is true that the Koreans' skills are greater than the Japanese," Kranjcar said.

Croatia's captain Niko Kovac made similar comments. "For us, the match against Japan will be just us scoring goals," he told reporters.

Croatia has been seeded in Brazil's Group F, along with Japan and Australia. The former Yugoslavia Republic will participate in January's Carlsberg Cup, due to kick-off on the 29th in Hong-Kong. Croatia will play against the Korea Republic in the tournament.

Iran is also taking part on this tournament, and is coached by Branko Ivankovic who is also a Croatian. Local press reports suggest that Ivankovic will give the tape of Iran's game against Japan to Kranjcar.

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